WACO, Texas — Traffic cone after traffic cone, it's another move-in week for Baylor students with campus surrounded by construction.
"Every week there's a new road being closed, a new road being opened," said Baylor senior Brayden Kendall.
Four years in, Kendall knows to work around the move-in week traffic.
"Just driving a little slower, paying attention, taking the freeway if you can now that the lanes are open," she explained.
With all lanes of I-35 now open through Waco, frontage roads and downtown streets like University Parks Drive are the main focus of concern, but Baylor says not to worry.
"'Will I be caught up in construction?' You will not be. This process is like a well-oiled machine," said Baylor spokesperson Lori Fogleman.
To prevent backups, the university is directing move-in traffic in from LaSalle Avenue and scheduling move-in appointments to avoid backups. The university is moving forward from experience and said it will operate 'like an airport', as it has for 20 years.
"Way back when, it used to be 'come one, come all' and then it coordinated so we could help students and their families," Fogleman said.
While official on-campus move-in doesn't start until Wednesday, the university is expecting about 1,000 students to move in early, ahead of the rush.
Still, students and those around campus know the move-in week headaches.
"I feel like the best way to do it is early because of all the traffic and all the people trying to shuffle up the stairs," Baylor junior Christian Grant said.
As campus welcome signs go up, the university is looking forward to welcoming about 3,300 new students and their families to campus. Students and the university alike are looking forward to the day that navigating around campus won't be so complicated.
"We are very patient. And alert. And we remain resilient," Fogleman said.
Construction is expected to wrap up on the I-35 frontage roads by the end of 2022, according to TxDOT.
